His Most Faithful Servant
by labyrinthinedreams
Summary: Drabble collection for the "So you think you know your character?" Competition on the HPFC forum. Various excerpts from the life of Bellatrix Lestrange.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - This is a collection of drabbles based around the character of Bellatrix Lestrange written for reminiscent-afterthought's "So you think you know your character?" Competition on the HPFC forum. Each will seek to answer something about the character based on prompts from the challenge. This first one is for the prompt, "What is your Hogwarts House and what traits do you share with it?". Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!**

It was only as she stood before the sorting hat in Hogwarts' cavernous Great Hall that Bellatrix began to have her doubts. All her life she had known that she would be in Slytherin, that it was the superior house and the place where she would make powerful friends who could help her for the rest of her life. And yet, in the hat's song the other houses didn't seem so bad. She was brave, she was clever, she was loyal. At least she liked to think she was.

"Black, Bellatrix."

Her legs shook as she made her way to the front and it was a struggle to keep her head held high and her face composed. What would her father say if she was not made a Slytherin? If she broke a tradition that had been going for generations?

The ragged hat slipped down right over her eyes.

"Having doubts are we?" Bellatrix jumped. She hadn't expected it's voice to be so loud in her ears. "You needn't worry, there's only one place right for you..."

"SLYTHERIN!"

Bellatrix breathed an inward sigh of relief. Removing the hat, she swept her hair over her shoulder and strode over to the cheering table on the far left. She had been ridiculous. Of course this was where she belonged. The tapestry at her aunt's house proved it; all those famous names and influential people that had come before her were the reason she was here today. Generations of magical expertise flowed pure through her veins. Other students could be brave or clever or loyal, but few had that. Which was why she was better. And this was where she belonged.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The prompt for this chapter was "What are your hobbies?"**

Bellatrix sat idly flicking through her Transfiguration notes in the Slytherin common room, wishing she could be anywhere else, as Livia Greengrass prattled on in her ear.

"I still don't understand how Animagi _work_. McGonagall only gave me three out of ten for my essay on them and if they come up on the exam then I'm done for. I don't even know what I did wrong."

Bellatrix sighed. "That's because she spent more of the class prancing around as a cat than explaining anything." She had taken an almost instant disliking to Professor McGonagall back in her first year, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. "You can have a look at my essay if you like."

Livia smiled gratefully as she handed it over and silence fell once more as they returned to their studies.

The next thing Bellatrix knew she was being poked sharply in the ribs. Grabbing her wand she sprung up to find Livia chuckling at her.

"What did you do that for?"

"You fell asleep. Probably all that late night wandering around taking its toll."

"I will curse you if you_ ever_ do that again, understand?" Bellatrix hissed.

"Yes, I'm sure you've learnt plenty of curses," Livia said with an infuriating smile. "Don't think I haven't realized that you sneak off to the restricted section of the library most nights."

"Keep your voice down. And I suppose you've finished with these, then." Bellatrix snatched up her revision notes and stormed off to her dormitory.

"Oh come on, Bella, I didn't mean anything by it."

She ignored her friend's whiny complaints and slammed the door behind her. What did she know anyway? Bellatrix was learning things far more useful than any pointless Transfiguration notes could teach.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Written with the prompt "What do you dislike?"**

Unease had been settling over the Wizarding community for several months, as they had been hit by a bout of strange attacks and unexplained disappearances. She had heard her parents whisper about some new group, someone recruiting an army, but they always stopped the second they noticed she was listening.

She had not realized just how scared people were until she had fist seen his mark.

It blazed in the horizon as if it were made of fire, but spoke a message of terror that was cold as ice. It dominated the skyline and screamed at her to flee from some hidden danger so much greater than herself. Yet despite this, it was beautiful.

It did not matter that she did not know quite where the symbol was, or what dangers lay beneath it. It did not matter that she was not even one-hundred percent sure where she was at the moment or that she should really be at her aunt and uncle's house rather than wandering aimlessly through the streets of London. She had to know who had put that dread-filled, yet hypnotizing skull in the sky. She was strangely drawn to it; there was just no way she could walk away from it not knowing.

She did not recognize the house that lay beneath the skull, but she assumed it must have been a wizarding household as the scene was swarming with robed Ministry officials, busy wiping Muggles' memories and sending them away. A group in the middle stared anxiously upwards, but none seemed able to overpower the huge, glittering mark that graced the sky.

Still captivated, she did not notice the wizard who approached her and she shrieked when he grabbed her arm and raised his wand to her face.

"Get off me," she hissed, before noticing his Obliviator robes and realizing what he intended to do. "I'm a witch," she barked hurriedly, pulling out her own wand as proof and tearing her arm away as is grip slackened.

He seemed content to let her go and hurried off to continue his work, but seconds later he was back when he realized that Bellatrix had continued towards the house.

"This is no place for you, young lady. I'm going to take you home."

Bellatrix realized, embarrassed, that he had conjured an invisible wall in front of her and that she had no choice but to turn away from the captivating mark and go with him. It would be foolish to try to use magic underage with so many Ministry personnel around. Her fists balled at her sides in frustration.

"What happened here? Who conjured that? _Tell me._"

The Oblivator simply smiled patronizingly. "That's nothing for you to worry about, dear. Now where do you live?"

Bellatrix was forced to return with him to her aunt's house, away from that powerful mystery in the sky. She couldn't wait until people stopped treating her like a child.


End file.
